How to make Cleaning Easier by Using Less
Today I want to talk to you about how to make cleaning easier by using less.
Using less product. Using less time. Using less energy. Using less money.
I know. That’s that not possible, huh?
But it is. I used to use so many different products to clean. I’d have the multi surface cleaner for the counters, toilet cleaner, bathroom cleaner, floor cleaner, upholstery spray, Lysol, bleach.. Then I’d use laundry detergent, softener, dryer sheets, scent boosters. I used spray for urine stains and deodorizer (because senior dogs can’t hold their bladder well), plug-ins in just about every outlet… I had a special detergent for my bed sheets, ya’ll. Then when I was cleaning, I had to tote all that stuff around with their specific rags. Cleaning took hours and it was expensive. It was nuts.
And I thought I was going fast! I thought I had figured out which products were the best value for my money and that I was saving so much..
Too much will slow you down.
Turns out I was not. I had to reevaluate everything. The amount of money I was spending on cleaning products alone makes me sick. I was spending hours of my free time strictly cleaning the same messes over and over again.
So you know what I did? I started to use less. I found products that I love and that are affordably priced. Most of these products are dual purpose and safe for most surfaces, people and animals.
Safety is the #1 thing that I look for when purchasing a product. I’ve got a child, dogs, cats, and a house chicken to think about. And I don’t know if you know this or not, but birds are super hard to keep alive. They’re so sensitive to literally everything. Phew.
Make a List of Things You Clean the Most
I had to make a list of the things I clean the most. I had to figure out what I was using, where I was using it and how much I was using.
1. Counter tops/Table Surfaces
That includes the kitchen, bathroom, end tables, coffee table, dining table. Also shelves. I don’t know if you’ve ever thought about all of the flat surfaces you have in your home, but it’s a quarter of a million, no doubt.
2. Pet Odors
MAN the odors. Poor Addie has the worst smelling skin. She’s got a severe allergy to fleas and is constantly chewing her skin. Living near the woods makes it nearly impossible to keep the fleas under control. If anyone has the secret to keeping fleas at bay, PLEASE let me know.
Dogs just smell in general sometimes. We all know the smell I’m referring to. That topped with senior dog pee accidents. Let’s just say, I spend a lot of my time working on the smell of the house.
3. Urine Spots
It just happens. A lot. My dogs are old. Addie can barely walk outside due to her knee pain. Cocoa tries her best to be good but sometimes she just can’t hold it. Lily is just stubborn and the second I walk out the room she’s running to her spot to pee. I’m pretty sure its revenge for locking her up when I’m gone. I’ve gone from stressing over it to just accepting that it won’t be forever and figuring out ways to minimize and clean it.
4. Laundry
I wish I was joking when I say I had eight different products to use on laundry. Leslie sweats like crazy at work and her clothes just reeks. I have reusable pee pads for the dogs and old animal towels. An eight year old. Our laundry is just dirty. So I thought I needed all the things.
5. Floors
With as many animals as I have, the floors are never perfectly clean. I’ve had the unfortunate Roomba vs. poop incident more often than I’d like to admit. There are feathers and hair everywhere. I sweep every other morning and I always have a mop bucket made. It’s embarrassing how dirty my floors get, but there is no way out of it.
The Grand Total:
After figuring this out. I started naming all the products I use. For those five areas, it was 16 products. I had lost my mind.
Choosing one product
Over the years, I had gone back and forth with Odoban. I went ahead and ordered a gallon because I knew it was pet and kid safe, it worked well on the floors and as a multipurpose cleaner. After researching a bit, I realized just how versatile it was. Plus, you can’t beat $10 for a gallon of concentrate.
The Magic That is Odoban
Ya’ll, this stuff cleans everything. It is safe for most surfaces, including all of my counter tops and tables. It eliminates the need for Mr. Clean and wood cleaners. It is GREAT on animal odors and breaks down the enzymes in pet urine, meaning I didn’t have to buy the $11 bottle of pet odor spray anymore. You can use this stuff in your LAUNDRY for getting odors out of clothes. That alone relieved me of three different products.
It works great as a floor cleaner and is safe for my ceramic tile. AND the best part.. I can spray this into the litter box. I can literally spray the box down and spray the litter if the smell starts to become noticeable. Like.. Odoban is incredible.
Not only does it clean well, but it is also virucidal and bactericidal. It kills the flu (human and avian), staph, and Covid-19. It is literally amazing.
Using the proper dilutes for different objectives, I use Odoban for ALL of the places I clean the most. Plus the ones I get to once a week or month.
Cleaning quickly, saving money and using less.
Now that I only need this cleaner and a handful of others, I was able to free up a ton of room in my cleaning cabinet that was always a huge mess. I organized it so that I wasn’t wasting time searching and digging around for the right thing. I made a cleaning “caddy” with my Odoban spray bottle, a couple of rags, Clorox wipes for stuff I just want to wipe and throw away, and glass cleaner. Everything I need to carry around with me is in this little caddy. On big cleaning days, I grab it and go. If I need to clean something quickly, I just open the cabinet, grab what I need, clean, then toss it back in the Caddy. It’s quick and painless. especially now that the cabinet is organized.
It’s so nice just grabbing one product and running through the house with it. It makes for quick clean ups and saves me so much time by not having to go through each bottle to find what I need and having to put everything back up. You don’t realize how much time you spend just looking for things.
I am saving so much money now that I am not buying these expensive cleaning products dedicated to one mess. My gallon of Odoban lasts about a month if not longer. $10 a month on cleaning products? I’ll take it.
So take it from me, friends. Do you want to save some money and time while cleaning? Figure out what you’re spending the most time cleaning and find a product that is versatile that you can carry from room to room. It seriously makes cleaning so much easier and quicker, saves you some money and helps you to reduce some clutter.